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Billionaire hedge fund managers such as Steve Cohen and Stan Druckenmiller can generate millions or even billions of dollars every year by pinning down high-potential small-cap stocks and pouring cash into these candidates. Small-cap stocks are overlooked by most investors, brokerage houses, and financial services hubs, while the unlimited research abilities of the big players within the hedge fund industry can easily identify the undervalued and high-potential stocks that reside the ignored corners of equity markets. There are numerous small-cap stocks that have turned out to be great winners, which is one of the main reasons the Insider Monkey team pays close attention to the hedge fund activity in relation to these stocks.

Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. UVV was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with UVV positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) and Axiall Corp (NYSE:AXLL), to gather more data points.

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According to most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as underperforming, old investment tools of the past. While there are over an 8000 funds trading at present, Our researchers hone in on the moguls of this club, about 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handles the bulk of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by following their finest equity investments, Insider Monkey has determined a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.

Hedge fund activity in Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV)

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a drop of 31% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, holds the most valuable position in Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV). Gotham Asset Management has a $25.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Gotham Asset Management’s heels is Pzena Investment Management, led by Richard S. Pzena, holding a $24.8 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish consist of Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.